On May 7, a non-local man from Chennai died after a stone thrown hit him in the head in Kashmir’s Narbal area.
He was taken to SKIMS, Soura, where he succumbed to his injuries in the evening, a police official said. A girl, identified as Sabreena, was also injured in the incident.
The incident drew condemnation from across the political divide in Kashmir. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti visited the hospital and met the family of the deceased and expressed solidarity with them. Expressing grief over the death of a tourist, Hurriyat (G) chairman Syed Ali Geelani had said that “we have been shouldering the coffins of our loved ones on daily basis but never can be silent on this indiscipline and hooliganism, by some unruly youth.”
However, Sonam Mahajan, whose twitter bio shows that she is a “Politically aware Dogra Hindu” called for an economic boycott of Kashmiris after the rare incident.
The mindless violence of Kashmiri Islamists has forced me to urge all my fellow Indians to stop visiting Kashmir as tourists. They don’t deserve our money. Visit Jammu, Vaishnodevi, Himachal, Uttarakhand, let them live in their houseboats. Drain them economically.
— Sonam Mahajan (@AsYouNotWish) May 8, 2018
The call for the economic boycott drew strong reactions from Kashmiri netizens, with one of them asking for the “Indians should pack up and ‘LEAVE’ Kashmir and Go elsewhere!”.
Which is where an unexpected savior came in the defence of Mahajan calling for the boycott of Kashmiri tourism.
What do you mean ‘leave us’? You’re on Indian soil. Your terrorist organisation disguised as a government body should pack up and leave.
— Imam Tawhidi (@Imamofpeace) May 8, 2018
Tawhidi who has been a vocal critic of “extremist Islam” while aligning with Israel on the Palestinian issue, jumped the gun.
Tawhidi says “your terrorist organisation disguised as a government should pack up leave” in an apparent confusion with the Hamas administration, often referred to as the Hamas government in Gaza.
Although many in Kashmir would welcome Tawhidi’s suggestion stemming from his confused mind, the ‘Imam of Peace’ needs some research to comment on issues which he has no idea about.
But his aligning with the Hindu right wing in India will not surprise many who are aware of his politics.
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